Predicting Who Will Win the EFL Championship 2022/23

Teams Predicted To Finish In the Top Two

Norwich

Norwich have played in both the Premier League and the Championship in the last 10 years. They have achieved promotion 4 times, but have been relegated three times and will be relegated once again at the conclusion of the 2021/22 Premier League season. They won the Championship in 2018/19 and in 2020/21, making them favourites to win again. Current manager Dean Smith has experience coaching in the Championship, having coached both Brentford and Aston Villa there, the latter of which he helped promote in his first season in 2018. In their last two seasons in the EFL Championship, in 2019 and 2021, Norwich dominated the league, scoring 93 and 75 goals in each season.

Watford

Watford is also a team that has featured quite prominently in the EFL Championship. They achieved promotion in the 2020/21 season, coming second place to Norwich, but in the Premier League they have struggled and will be relegated to the Championship at the end of the 2021/22 season. Watford had played for 5 years in the Premier League prior to their relegation in 2019/20, and will be keen to return to the Premier League after relegation. They recently changed manager, and now are coached by Roy Hodgson, who has plenty of experience managing clubs in the Premier League as well as in the Championship. The team also comprises many ageing Premier League players who played in top clubs when at the peak of their careers, and with their experience Watford should have no problems in achieving promotion in the following edition of the Championship.

The third team to be relegated has yet to be decided; it could be a number of teams at this point in the season including Everton, Burnley or Leeds. These three teams have all established themselves in the Premier League, especially Everton who have had a surprisingly shocking season to find themselves at the bottom end of the table.

Teams Predicted To Make the Playoffs (Third through Sixth Places)

As the Championship table currently stands, Fulham has definitely won promotion, and Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield all look like they can make second place. Luton and Sheffield United complete the top six, meaning that any of these teams can still make the playoffs and thus find themselves playing in the Premier League in the following season.

Because the season has not concluded yet, it is impossible to know which of these teams (apart from runaway leaders Fulham) will be playing in the Premier League, so this list will look at the other teams in the Championship who show the potential to make the top six next season.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough has been playing in the Championship since the 2009/10 season, after a successful stint in the Premier League was finally ended with relegation. They achieved promotion once, in 2015/16, but were relegated in that season. In recent seasons they dropped from the top end of the table to the bottom end, but they have shown some promising performances this season. Though they have a good line-up, and quite a few defensive players who show talent, they have lacked one good goal scorer. The team plays in a 4-4-2 formation, so the goal scoring responsibilities are split between both strikers, but they fail to compete with other strikers in the league who have already hit double figures. If they have a successful transfer window they may show some real signs of contending for the title.

Swansea

Swansea were relegated from the Premier League in 2017/18, after a 7 year stint in the top flight. They have come close to promotion when they placed 6th and 4th in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Despite this, Swansea still find themselves playing in the Championship. The Welsh team have some good attacking players and have managed to put together quite a strong team, although they have problems with their defence. It seems that Swansea cannot keep a clean sheet or hold on to win games where they go ahead. If Swansea solve their defensive problems, they may definitely find themselves battling for promotion.

West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich have had a similarly terrible season in 2021/22, after being freshly relegated from the Premier League they are now currently looking at a mid-table finish in the Championship. The team is unfortunately an ageing one, although under proven manager Steve Bruce, they have a chance to restructure and try to look forwards. With the exception of this season's slip, West Brom have only finished in the top four in the Championship over the past twenty years. It is an impressive statistic, but the team will have to improve their attacking and defending if they want a chance at promotion next season.